Recently I came up with the idea to make these handmade “tea fortunes.” They are simple to put together and make pretty, thoughtful gifts. They are really a mixture between a tea-bag and a fortune cookie, and you can tailor them to be as personal as you like. I think they would be great as party favours, in a hamper, or as something lightweight but lovely to send in the mail.

Step 1: Choose some loose-leaf tea. I used the Crimson Blend from the Travelling Samovar, because it’s my absolute favourite and I drink it all the time

Step 2: Spoon the tea into a giant tea-bag. You can simply use a sheet of muslin cloth, tied with baking string, or stitch it into a little pouch if you’re handy with a sewing machine. I used the oversized bags you see in these pictures because the lovely ladies at Travelling Samovar had some on hand and gave them to me. If you want to do the same, they can be found in Asian grocery stores

Step 3: Write your “fortunes.” On thin strips of paper, write out anything you like. I used a mixture of positive affirmations, switching out the “I” for “You,” as well as some inspiring quotes on creativity. Roll up your fortunes into tiny scrolls, and tie them with pieces of string.

Step 4: Personalise a giant paper pocket for the tea-bag. To do this, decorate the middle of an A4-sized sheet of paper, roughly the same size as your handmade tea-bag. Decorated it any way that takes your fancy, I painted the little tea cup you see here. Just make sure the paper is horizontal.

Step 5: Turn the sheet over so that your picture is face-down. Fold the top and bottom in, at about two centimetres. Place your tea-bag in the middle, and tuck the fortune-scrolls in behind it. Now fold the paper in at either side of your tea-bag to create the pocket. Secure it with a piece of washi tape, and you’re done!

How have these early days of winter been treating you? I have been getting out of the house as much as I can, because I know that when things get really cold and wet we will all be trapped indoors. The other day I pushed the pram more than seven kilometres in the rain to go along to a little blogger meet-up in Collingwood. The meet-up was great and it was lovely to meet so many kind, talented people who I’d been admiring online. On the other hand, pushing a double pram in the rain is somewhat uncomfortable, because it requires two hands just to keep it on the footpath (or else it will swing around into the traffic), and that doesn’t leave any hand free for holding an umbrella. The rain wasn’t heavy, but let’s just say my winter coat now needs a dry-clean. Walking around town, I smell like wet dog.

Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and think, I walk for hours every day, pushing two heavy children in a pram, and I am breastfeeding a hungry baby day and night. Why haven’t I shed the last of those baby kilos? And then I look at my diet, and think about the hours of sleep I’m not getting, and there’s my answer. There’s nothing I can do about the sleepless nights at the moment but I could improve my diet, with just a smidgeon of self-discipline. And I know I should. But when you are coming off the back of yet another broken night of sleep that cumulatively added up to three and a half hours, that coffee and brownie may be the only thing standing between you and total meltdown. So then I say to myself “Self, today I will cut you some slack. We’ll work on our tummy and thighs some other day.”

Other than work, which I never really talk about on this blog but which happens with monotonous regularity, our days have been marked by gentle adventures. Trips to the zoo. Visits to our favourite cafes and parks. We joined a new play group, so that Harry could make some little friends his own age. The babies are all about two months younger than him which in the scheme of things won’t make a difference but right now, when they all lie down together on a mat, he looks like he has been steadily eating his way through their friends.

I have been decorating some mail to send to you guys, and just popped another five parcels in the mail. And recently I made these little “tea stamp” books to send in the mail to some readers and friends. I can’t claim credit for the idea, it came from a dear pen pal of mine who goes by the name of Flora Likes Soap on Etsy. I covered the ‘books’ with used stamps and then just attached three different flavours of organic tea bags (green tea, peppermint tea and chai). They make lovely little handmade presents because they are quite compact, and very lightweight to send in the post.

How have you been filling your days?

I live in a really great part of Melbourne, known as the “Inner North.” What do I love about it?

It’s a 20 minute walk from my place into the heart of the city, yet everywhere around us is quiet and peaceful. We’re in a historically-protected area, so most of the homes in our street are more than 100 years old, with their beautiful Victorian facades preserved. A walk to the park today is barely changed from the same walk a century ago.

Buildings in our area are peppered with wonderful vintage advertising painted onto their brickwork. There are cobblestoned laneways behind the homes. And the main streets are choc full of amazing food: cafes, restaurants, bars, food trucks and organic produce; as well as shops that boast beautiful homewares, vintage finds, fashion and art.

Are you ready to visit me yet?

If you are, I may have the perfect travel guide for you. Jauntful is a new (free) digital tool that makes it incredibly easy to design attractive online guides that are also printable (with maps). Pretty nifty, huh?

I’ve just designed my very first guide, focusing on great places to eat and visit in Melbourne’s Inner North, with babies or toddlers in tow. I’m not talking about places that deliberately bill themselves as family-friendly, necessarily: all too often those places are noisy and grotty and garish and the coffee is appalling. Instead, I’m talking about the sorts of places you’d want to visit even without kids (and you totally should!), which just so happen to be super supportive of those of us sporting miniature humans, and frequently include some special extras that keep the kids happy and make our lives easier.

So, here is my guide (scroll down through it too see all the places I recommend). What do you think? Do you want to come visit my neighbourhood (with or without kids)?

The toddler-and-baby friendly Inner North

And now for the competition

To celebrate the launch of a new Facebook page called “Live North” that celebrates all the great things about Melbourne’s Inner North, sponsored by Hockingstuart, I’ve been invited to give you guys a gift: a family pass to Melbourne Museum (two adults and two children), PLUS a family pass (two adults and two children) to see Unseen World at IMAX Melbourne. The total value of this prize is $75.

To enter, simply send me an email (nabulger AT gmail DOT com) with “Live North” in the subject line. I’ll select the winner at random so making your message funny or cute won’t win you any extra points, but it WILL make it fun for me to read, so don’t hold back if you’re so inclined! The competition closes at 3pm this Friday 11 April (Melbourne time, of course). Only one entry per person, but you can enter other members of your family (or your friends), as long as they are over 18.

UPDATE: This competition is now closed. Congratulations Tawhi!

ps. The Live North Facebook page has also launched a HUGE competition to win dining and shopping in the Inner North, worth more than $4000! Enter here.

If I get my act together in time, I’ll make some more of them this year and send them out. But I also thought I’d share them with you, in case you’d like to do the same for a very easy (three-step) DIY Christmas gift. Here’s how:

Christmas tea-bag printables

You will need: a supply of tea-bags, white card stock, scissors or a craft knife, a stapler, and this template of the four Christmas tea-friends

Instructions:

1. Print the template onto a sheet of white card, in colour. If your printer won’t accept thick card, print onto normal white paper then take it to a newsagency or Office Works-type place that will colour photocopy onto the card

2. Cut around the edge of each figure using a pair of scissors or a craft knife

3. Staple the cardboard tag on a tea-bag to the bottom of each figure

You’re done! Package up your little Christmas tea-bag figures for friends, or pop one of them into a tea cup and enjoy some Christmassy Darjeeling right now!

I have been peering through the window watching the fit-out develop and reading the “Coming Late June” signs on the door (that hearbreakingly changed to “Coming Mid July”) with impatient interest. Then last week I was walking Madeleine home from the park when what ho! the doors were open! The owners were smiling, the samovar was steaming, so in we rolled.

Owned by three friends united in their love of tea and travel, the Travelling Samovar is like everyone’s best version of an imagined stopover on the Spice Route. The menu boasts approximately one billion different teas* complete with tasting notes. But if you’re lazy (like me), just ask the owners for their advice. Their passion for tea spills over throughout the conversation, and it’s so contagious. I tried the “Calcutta” tea-tasting, a trio of Indian teas (Darjeeling, Assam and Chai), with tea-infused shortbread on the side as a palate cleanser.

There’s a light lunch menu as well, and can you imagine anything better on a cold winter’s day than cumin-spiced tomato and sweet potato soup? It was sublime. Madeleine preferred her toasty cheese fingers, the pleb. We followed our lunches up with a poached fruit salad and buffalo-milk yoghurt, that we shared.

On another day, I ordered a light rosebud tea sweetened with honey, alongside a moist, sticky Persian love cake and a generous dollop of rose-petal cream. On this Madeleine and I both agreed, so we actually had to order a second cake because she ate ALL of my first one!

We returned to the Travelling Samovar as a family on the weekend and tried the antipasto platter, the ratatouille tart, a generous slice of Russian Napoleyon slice, and some more teas. You’ve got to do this not only for the tasting but also to watch all the amazing, traditional preparation methods that they use, depending on the tea.

* May represent a slight exaggeration

ps. Yes, they do have an old samovar. And yes, they do use it.

ps2. That weird sticky-up bit of hair on top of my head? That’s because I cut my own fringe AGAIN and it went horribly wrong AGAIN. Don’t talk to me about it.

So you just tell them that is a brilliant idea, and stop yourself from thinking about recipes and decorations and logistics and instead you let them have their moment. That delicious moment when you plan and look forward to something fun.

And as the week goes on, you restrict yourself to the occasional question. “Have you decided what you will cook yet?” And, “Did you remember that Raya is gluten-free and lactose intolerant?” And when they answer, “We’d better get on to that soon,” you hold your tongue and don’t point out how long it generally takes to plan and cook for and set up these kinds of things.

Now it is Saturday night and the High Tea is on Sunday and as far as you’re aware, nothing has yet been done. “What are your plans for tomorrow?” you innocently ask.

There is sudden panic in your home. In resignation, your husband rings their friends with the intention of cancelling but, before he can do so, said friends say “We’re really looking forward to the High Tea!” so there goes that idea.

For a couple of minutes, your heart sinks and your martyr complex rises. You imagine yourself coming up with an entire menu of gluten-free, dairy-free High Tea treats and trying to concoct them that night and early the next morning. You think how tired you’ll be, especially in between caring for a little baby and cleaning the house. You remember the last time you baked with gluten-free flour and how truly inedible the result was.

Then you suck it up and say, “BEGONE, Martyr Naomi.” The next morning, you run up to the local bakery and buy a selection of assorted macarons, friands and mini meringues, then pick up some lovely berries, grapes and cherries from the organic fruit store. Back home, you and Mr B clean the house from top to bottom while Madeleine and Emily sleep in.

You pull out all the pretty china and set a simple table in the courtyard under the olive tree, decorating the table by putting some flowers that Emily picks from the front garden in an old marmalade jar. You put on a pot of tea. Mr B juices a dozen lemons for you to make fresh, sparkling lemonade.

Turns out, you don’t have to make everything yourself, from scratch, for everyone to have a good time. Who knew?

Instead I decided to make some of my own, with a Christmas theme. I decided on Santa, Rudolf, Frosty, and a Christmas angel. It was very easy. You just trace out the basic outline of the head and arms (which will sit in the tea cup), then draw anything or anyone you like inside, and photocopy as many as you need (or print them if you have access to a scanner and colour printer). Staple teabags to the bottom and you’re done.

Maybe another time I will Photoshop in the faces of some family members for a funny little “take tea with the Bulgers” set.

The only problem I faced was that I didn’t have time to get to a stationery store to buy heavier cardboard, so the paper was a bit too thin and flimsy to rest properly in the tea cups. Hopefully my friends will forgive me this time around.

And I still think they look kind of cute, relaxing in their little tea baths, wouldn’t you agree?

1. The travelling tea parlour

This is Lady Bonin’s Tea Parlour, selling mobile, take-away tea from the back of a vintage caravan. Oh how I long to while away the hours sipping tea on that Persian carpet and soaking up the South African sun. I wish, wish, wish Lady Bonin would come to Adelaide, but methinks the odds are against me. I’m not sure how watertight that caravan really is. (Lady Bonin found via Shannon of Happiness Is)

2. The teapot wildflowers

We have the perfect teapot for this at home, so I am most definitely going to borrow stylist Amy Merrick’s fabulous idea. I subscribe to Amy’s blog An Apple a Day for a regular dose of beautiful things.

3. The DIY teacup lamp

If I ever find the patience (it must be here somewhere), I’d like to make not one but two of these fabulous teacup lamps and use them in our bedroom for night-time reading. This is a lovely, long-term project. First, the hunting through thrift-shops for just the right teacups, saucers and teapots. Then the fun stacking and re-stacking to find the best look. After all that, I suspect the actual making of the lamp may seem pretty quick! Does Bunnings sell lamp kits?

4. The tea party

I love the ideas, inspirations and tips for a wonderful tea party in this article on All Women Stalk. All I need is (ahem) some friends in my new town of Adelaide, and I will be tea party ready for spring!

5. The cup cozy

When the auld Irish fisherman comes in from a blustery day on the waves, leaves his raincoat and hat dripping by the door and thumps in to warm his hands by the kitchen fire, Mrs Fisherman will bring him over a steaming cup of tea wrapped in this cable knit cup cozy. I want one, too.